It's summer, the sun is scorching hot, and all I really want is something to help me stay cool. So when it came time to pick a recipe from my Secret Recipe Club assignment this month, I knew I wanted something along those lines. I think it's awesome that my blog assignment this month hails all the way from Australia. My Hobbie Lobbie is a new-to-me blog written by Trisha who loves to craft and travel. Although Trisha is a baker, she had plenty of recipes that fit my desire to stay cool perfectly. Her Mango (no-churn) Ice Cream immediately caught my attention, as did her Choco-Fudge Pops, and Melon-Cucumber Smoothie. And once the weather cools down a bit I'll be trying her Baked Naan, Japanese Cheesecake, and Sweet & Salty Cumin Cookies, because I never would have thought to add cumin (one of my favorite spices) to cookies. But the recipe that won me over was her Mango Milkshake, because who doesn't love a thick and creamy milkshake in the summer?

As much as my family loves milkshakes, we tend to stick to our favorite flavors like strawberry, vanilla, chocolate, cookies & cream, and peanut butter & banana. But as soon as I read the words "mango milkshake" I thought, "I love mangos in my licuados (smoothies), but why have I never thought to add them to a milkshake?!" These Mango Milkshakes were such a hit with my Hubby and kiddies, that I've already made them 5 or 6 times in the last 4 weeks. The first couple of times I followed Trisha's recipe to a tee using only vanilla ice cream. But after a visit to our local paleteria (popsicle/ice cream parlor) and seeing that they had mango ice cream, I forewent buying just a scoop and bought an entire liter to use just for mango milkshakes and that's all I've used ever since.

Once you try these Mango Milkshakes, I think you'll agree that they are sunshine in a glass.

Mango Milkshake - lacocinadeleslie.com

Secret Recipe Club: Mango Milkshake

Howdy there, strangers! I know that it's been forever and a day since I last posted, and for that I apologize. But I'm back today for another installment of She Made/Ella Hace with my partner-in-crime, girlichef. Heather (girlichef) chose nopales (cactus paddles) as our theme this month and I couldn't be happier. Not only are nopales a staple ingredient in the Mexican kitchen, but they're also one of the few foods that make an appearance in my kitchen almost daily. I add nopales to just about everything: soups, moles, tacos, huevos con chorizo, and even smoothies. Yes, you read that correctly....smoothies!

Licuados de Nopal (cactus paddle smoothies) are very popular at the juice bars in el mercado (the market), because they're believed to lower blood sugar levels, cholesterol, and help you lose weight. At the juice bars you can choose to have your Licuado de Nopal made with either orange juice or grapefruit juice. I prefer mine with grapefruit juice because it really plays well with the pineapple, celery, and parsley that are also in this smoothie. Licuados de Nopal are a nice balance between a sweet smoothie and a savory smoothie. But if you prefer your smoothies on the sweeter side you can sweeten this smoothie with either honey or agave nectar. Served over ice, this Grapefruit-Cactus Paddle Smoothie is a delicious and refreshing way to start your day.

For a complete nopales filled breakfast, be sure to visit girlichef's blog to check out her Migas con Nopales!

Grapefruit-Cactus Paddle Smoothie (Licuado de Nopal y Toronja) - lacocinadeleslie.com

Grapefruit-Cactus Paddle Smoothie {She Made/Ella Hace}

Happy June, amigos! It's the beginning of a new month, which means that it's time for The Secret Recipe Club big reveal. I don't know about you, but one of my favorite things about blogging is discovering new blogs to follow and making new friends. This month I was assigned a new-to-me blog called Sweet as Sugar Cookies written by Lisa. True to it's title, Lisa's blog is full of sweet and delicious treats. Some of the recipes that caught my attention were the Baked Pears w/ Feta Cheese Lisa made last month for SRC, Honey Yogurt Bread, Spicy Peach BBQ Chicken, Mango Bread, and Peach Pie Bars. I finally decided to go with the Peach Pie Bars, because they just sounded like the perfect summer dessert.

My only problem was that I couldn't find fresh peaches, and I really didn't want to use canned peaches for this dessert nor did I want to make something else. My heart, mind, and stomach were set on having the Peach Pie Bars. So, I turned to one of my favorite summer fruits and made Mango Pie Bars instead.

Oh my goodness! This just might be my new go-to mango dessert. I still can't get over how amazing they were. They tasted like Peach Pie and Peach Cobbler all rolled into one. Thank you so much for this recipe, Lisa! My Hubby & kiddies thank you too.

Mango Pie Bars - lacocinadeleslie.com

Secret Recipe Club: Mango Pie Bars

With summer just around the corner, my foodie BFF girlichef and I thought it only fitting that we make paletas for this month's She Made/Ella Hace. Both Heather (girlichef) and I both have a fondness for paletas. I think they are the perfect summer dessert, so cool, sweet, and refreshing. And they look so cute on those little wooden sticks. I don't know about you, but I've always thought foods on a stick just taste better than foods not on a stick.

Again, girlichef and I were on the same wavelength with this month's theme. She made Dulce de Leche Paletas and I made Caramel Pecan Paletas with cajeta (a Mexican caramel sauce). These paletas were inspired by one of my favorite snacks: plain yogurt with a sprinkling of chopped pecans and cajeta drizzled on top. As much as I enjoy my mid-morning snack, I love these Caramel Pecan Paletas even more! The tartness of the yogurt, the sweet creaminess of the cajeta, and the crunchy nutty flavor of the pecans combine together to make the perfect summer dessert.

Caramel Pecan Paletas - lacocinadeleslie.com

Paletas de Cajeta y Nuez (Caramel-Pecan Paletas) {She Made/Ella Hace}

I have a confession to make... As much as I love empanadas, there is a certain empanada that I rarely ever make - Empanadas de Piña (Pineapple Empanadas). Not because I don't love them (which I totally do), but because there are the only two kinds of empanadas sold at most panaderías (bakeries) in my small town: pineapple and vanilla. Usually when I make empanadas at home, it's because I'm craving a kind that I just can't find here in Small Town, Mexico. But pineapple empanadas are so sweet and delicious, that every once in a while, I just HAVE to make them at home, because homemade pineapple empanadas are that good.

Homemade Pineapple Empanadas - lacocinadeleslie.com


Empanadas de Piña (Pineapple Empanadas) #SundaySupper

I've shared many a recipe for enchiladas here in my cocina over the years: Potato Enchiladas, Enchiladas de Mole, Bean & Cheese Enchiladas, Scrambled Egg Enchiladas, Pumpkin Chicken Enchiladas, and even Swiss Chard Enchiladas. But there are still quite a few enchilada recipes that I haven't shared yet, like these Poblano Chicken Enchiladas Blancas. Creamy and cheesy enchiladas stuffed with shredded chicken, roasted poblano peppers, and golden corn kernels. They get the name Enchiladas Blancas because instead of a red or green chile enchilada sauce, they are made with sour cream.

This is a great recipe to use leftover shredded chicken, but I'm including how to cook the chicken if you'd like to make this recipe from scratch.


Poblano Chicken Enchiladas Blancas #WeekdaySupper

Last week when we got back from our annual Semana Santa camping trip, we came home with a ton of food because we ended up cutting our trip short by a whole day and a half. We brought home enough food that I didn't have to do my grocery shopping until the end of the week. Among the food we brought home that needed to be used up ASAP, were some very ripe mangos. Like too ripe to enjoy with salt, lime, and chile powder. So, we decided to make mango agua fresca.

It was a Sunday, so Hubby had time to lend me a hand in the kitchen. He peeled and cut the mangos, then pureed them in the blender with some water. All I had to do was add the sugar. But...when it came time to taste the agua fresca, I realized that one of the mangos was on the verge of spoiling. The good thing is that none of the mangos had actually spoiled. That would have been disastrous. To lighten that overly ripe mango taste, which can taste a little medicinal, I added a little fresh lime juice. (Lime juice is a great way to lighten strong flavors be it in an agua fresca or soup.) This resulted in a delicious and refreshing agua fresca, perfect for these it's-so-hot-it-feels-like-summer kind of days. My hubby loved this Mango Lime Agua Fresca so much he asked me to make it again for him this weekend, but with mangos that weren't so ripe.

Mango Lime Agua Fresca - lacocinadeleslie.com

Mango Lime Agua Fresca

We had a ton of food leftover from our annual Semana Santa (Holy Week) camping trip, so this week was all about using up that food before doing our regular grocery shopping. We had so much food leftover, we didn't have to do any shopping, with the exception of milk, until Friday. Here is what we ate this week...


Menu Plan Monday #2

This month for She Made/Ella Hace, my foodie BFF girlichef and I are whipping up cocktails with limón. Oddly enough, we both chose to make margaritas. That just goes to show that it's true what they say about great minds thinking alike. Girlichef used lemons to make her Raspberry Lemonade Margaritas, and I used limes to make my Margaritas de Cerveza.

I made these Beer Margaritas during our recent camping trip. We had limes, we had beer, and we had lots of tequila. So a margarita de cerveza seemed like the obvious cocktail to make. While I was mixing up this margarita, everyone was looking at me like I was out of my mind, because most of the time we either drink tequila or we drink beer, but they'd never mixed the two together. But they quickly learned what they had been missing out on. Tequila and beer pair together nicely, but it's the lime juice that really makes this margarita spectacular.

Margaritas de Cerveza sound pretty fancy, but you wouldn't believe how incredibly easy they are to make. A little tequila, some fresh lime juice, and an icy cold Mexican beer. That's it. If you like your margaritas on the sweet side, you can always add a splash of simple syrup, but I actually preferred these unsweetened. The choice is up to you. Just be prepared, because as delicious as these Beer Margaritas are, they pack quite a punch.


She Made/Ella Hace: Margaritas de Cerveza (Beer Margarita)

Last week we went on our annual Semana Santa (Holy Week) camping trip at el rancho with Hubby's siblings and their families. Three days of food, fun, and family. It was a blast! And did I mention the food? Here are a few photos of some of the delicious food we ate on our camping trip...

Camping Food - lacocinadeleslie.com


Wordless Wednesday: Camping Food

Homemade Tamales de Rajas from scratch - lacocinadeleslie.com

This week's #SundaySupper is Stuffed, Rolled, and Wrapped, hosted by kimchi MOM. Here in Mexico we have plenty of stuffed, rolled, and wrapped foods to choose from like tacos, gorditas, burritos, and enchiladas. The possibilities are endless. But honestly there was really only one thing I had in mind for this week's #SundaySupper theme...tamales! Tamales de Rajas con Requeson to be exact. Rajas are roasted poblano pepper strips, and requeson is like a Mexican ricotta cheese. Together they are a match made in heaven.

I know that the idea of making tamales from scratch can seem intimidating. If that's been the case for you, then this is the tamal recipe for you. Seriously, I don't think recipes for tamales can get any easier. (For easy to follow step-by-step instructions with photos on how to make tamales, see my recipe for Shredded Pork Tamales.) 

Tamales de Rajas con Requeson are a delicious meatless alternative for Lent.

Tamales de Rajas y Requeson (Roasted Poblano Tamales) #SundaySupper

Ham & Cheese Biscuit Empanadas - lacocinadeleslie.com

Even after having lived in Mexico for 13 years, every once in a while Hubby and I still get cravings for foods we ate when we lived in the US. Whenever that happens, I head into the kitchen and whip up a homemade version made from scratch that not only satisfies our craving, but also tastes a million times better than the original food we were craving. That is how today's recipe came to be. Hubby was craving Hot Pockets, which for those of you unfamiliar with them are savory turnovers sold in the frozen food section of the grocery store.

I first made these shortly after we moved to Mexico. I remember the first time I made them, I used my regular pie dough recipe for the crust. They were okay, but I wanted something flakier like a biscuit. After a couple of tries, I finally got it right. This biscuit empanada dough is buttery, tender and flaky. I make my biscuit dough from scratch, but for a quick and easy weeknight supper you could use refrigerated biscuit dough. (Oh how I miss the "pop" of those tubes.)

Chipotle Ham, Cheese & Broccoli Biscuit Empanadas #WeekdaySupper

Once a week I sit down with my Hubby and kiddies, and sometimes even my suegro (father-in-law) to plan our menu for the coming week. (Read more about How I Plan My Weekly Menu here.) Those 10 to 15 minutes we take planning our menu each week make my life as a wife & mom so much easier. Not only does it save us money, because we only buy what we're going to need for the week, but it also saves me time since I already have what I need on hand and I don't have to spend any time at all wondering about what I'm going to make. Since menu planning is something I already do on a weekly basis, I thought it would be a great idea to share those menu plans here on the blog in hopes that it'll offer you some inspiration in planning your own weekly menu.

Menu Plan Monday #1

Last month I participated in my first ever Secret Recipe Club and absolutely loved it. (My kiddies are still talking about how much they loved that Peanut Butter Fun Snack Cake.) For those of you unfamiliar with the Secret Recipe Club it's like a virtual recipe swap with another blogger, except I'm assigned a different blog each month, and the participants have no idea who is cooking something from their blog until reveal day. 

This month the blog I was assigned was Searching for Dessert, which is written by a former pastry chef. There are so many tempting, mouth-watering sweet treats to choose from, like Inside Out Cinnamon Rolls, Orange Creamsicle Rolls, and Banana Brownies w/ Peanut Butter Drizzle. But ultimately I went with a savory appetizer. Ashley's 6th grade graduation plans are underway and I'm trying out and looking for appetizer recipes to serve at the party.

These Manchego Cheese Straws were a huge hit. And you wouldn't believe how easy they are to make. I made some again today for our Sunday lunch with my in-laws and they disappeared within minutes. So clearly we have a keeper on our hands.

Manchego Cheese Straws - lacocinadeleslie.com

Secret Recipe Club: Manchego Cheese Straws

No recipe today, just sharing a photo to wish you all a happy Peanut Butter & Jelly Day! (I ♥ food holidays!)

Peanut Butter & Jelly Marias Cookies Snack Sandwiches - lacocinadeleslie.com

We love to eat PB&J on Galletas Marias. It's one of my kiddies' favorite afterschool snacks. What's your favorite way to enjoy peanut butter & jelly? And what's your favorite flavor jelly to pair with peanut butter?
















Wordless Wednesday: Peanut Butter & Jelly Day!

This month for She Made/Ella Hace my partner-in-crime girlichef and I chose Pipian as our theme, which couldn't be more perfect for me as I've had a bit of an obsession with pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds) the last couple of weeks. I can't seem to resist stirring them into everything and anything like salads, yogurt, cookies, homemade granola... The list goes on and on. But one of my favorite ways to enjoy pepitas is in Pipián.

Pipián is a traditional Mexican sauce that gets its distinct grainy texture from the pepitas. Pipián can be made in one of two ways: Pipián Verde made with tomatillos and roasted poblano peppers and Pipián Rojo made with tomatoes and dried ancho chiles. Pipián can be served over fish (girlichef made Salmon in Pipián Verde), shrimp, roasted pork, or chicken. Whether you choose to make Pipián Verde or Rojo, you'll love the nutty flavor the pepitas adds to this exquisite sauce.

Pipian Rojo Sauce made w/ Pepitas - lacocinadeleslie.com

She Made/Ella Hace: Chicken Pipián Rojo